Brianna Bennett - Greater Belize Media

Shyne Says He Spent Millions on the U.D.P.

Returning to Moses Barrow, he claims to have invested millions of dollars in the U.D.P., including funds for standard bearers who do not back his leadership. Barrow further stated that The Alliance is eager to claim the U.D.P. name due to the challenges of securing funding for the party’s operations.

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader, U.D.P.

“Nobody wants to give any opposition party money. That’s why they want to hold on to the UDP name. Because even as a UDP organization, it is difficult to get monies from the donor community. Imagine a third party. And that is what they’re afraid of. And that is why they’re engaged in deception and fraud. But when Patrick Faber was a leader of the UDP and Tracy was right next to him, they couldn’t raise any money. They complained about that over and repeatedly that they had no money, they cut the salaries of the staff, they could not do anything, they did not have one protest, they did not have one event, they did nothing while Patrick Farber was leader. The point I’m trying to make to you as far as the municipal elections, when I raised that money and I spent, personally, I spent millions of dollars on this party. Since I have been leader and I spent at least a million dollars personally in the municipal elections. When that money is given to colleagues, you trust them to deliver and perform. And the performance was dismal.”

Anthony “Boots” Martinez’s Clarifies Statement

At today’s press conference, former U.D.P. minister Anthony “Boots” Martinez explained that he never relied on the party to fund his political campaigns. Instead, he funded his campaigns out of pocket, acquiring the money by any means necessary. He, however, used an old saying—one that he shouldn’t have—and retracted his statement after one of the reporters pointed it out to him.

Anthony “Boots” Martinez, Former UDP Minister

“Let me make it clear, United Democratic Party, all the years that I served, I have paid five percent of my salary to this party. And when time there is elections, I fund my own election. Whether theif, borrow, or beg, I fund my own election with nothing from the party. I just dih seh. I find it, by any means, I find it.”

Reporter

“But you she theif?”

Anthony “Boots” Martinez

“I just di use wa analogy.”

Reporter

“Yo cya use ney kind ah analogy deh.”

Anthony “Boots” Martinez

“I di she I find my resourcefulness wherever I get it. I get it. But any which ways. Let me reframe that. Borrow or beg. Mek we go deh. I wa take back dat theif deh cause you know. Maybe da wa work weh, to me, inna lotta senses, the general public, looks on politician as thieves. Noh mek we hide from that but maybe that’s why maybe I include the word. When you talk about any. The first thing people she, alla unu thiefing politicians. No matter red or blue and that da di truth. But any which way.”

Disney’s The Honorable Shyne Trailer Released

Disney has released the trailer for the upcoming documentary The Honorable Shyne, which explores the journey of Moses “Shyne” Barrow. Barrow gained fame in the late 1990s as an emerging rap star, but his career took a downturn after he was charged in connection with a high-profile nightclub shooting involving rap mogul Diddy. In 2001, Barrow was convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison, while Combs was acquitted. According to Disney, the documentary offers a personal look at Barrow’s evolution. According to Barrow, the documentary shows a true image of his life.

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader, U.D.P.

“It’s quite a journey of tragedy and triumph, and that was the main focus. I did not want to tell a victim’s story. People have been coming to me to do a documentary forever. I would say for the last maybe 20 years, people have wanted to do a documentary with me, but I did not want to tell the Sean Puffy Combs documentary. I did not want to tell the, Oh, you know, this is what happened to me. It’s all your fault documentary. I think now is the right time. And so I’m very fortunate to have the right partners that I could have entrusted, um, to tell the journey truthfully, not even bias to me and I believe this is a truthful depiction of my journey, triumph, tragedy, triumph again, and we continue the fight. And I would not have been able to survive anything that I have if maybe I grew up differently, you know, in my father’s bosom, you know, being pet and powdered. And you know, my father and I have never had a better relationship now and I’m not ashamed of that. And you will get to see in the documentary that my father is not this great orchestrator of Shyne Barrow. In fact, we, we differ on many things.”

Man Goes Missing After Getting Bailed

A man is reportedly missing, and his cousin came forward to ask the public to help her locate him. Nichole McDonald told News Five today that he was informed by a police officer last week that thirty-seven-year-old Akeem Morgan did not report to court for a case he has pending for a gun charge. McDonald said she bailed Morgan from prison because he had complained of abuse and was trying to improve his life. Now she is concerned about his whereabouts because he normally reports to the police station each week, as per one of the conditions of his bail.

Nichole McDonald, Cousin of Akeem Morgan

“I bailed him out of the prison because he was charged with kept firearm without a gun license. Unfortunately, he told me that the police beat him up and planted the gun on him. I got a call on Friday from the court police that he did not show up to court and he’s out on bail under my watch. Every week he goes to the station to sign. He works in Cayo. I got a text, I put it out on my Facebook on Sunday and I got a text that police was looking for him in Corozal. They had him detained. Unfortunately, when I went to the police station on Monday, they did not find him. They didn’t even want to take my report. I spoke to Sergeant Arzu and she said that I need to locate his address, but he was releasing my custody. I’m his cousin. His mom is my aunt. She don’t live in Belize. He spent years and years and years in prison.”

Benita Keme-Palacio

“When was the last time you saw him and interacted with him?”

Nichole McDonald

“I last interacted with him in September and he came to sign in and he said Cuz I come sign in. Then ah gwein back da mi work da Cayo cause ih mi di work da Cayo for some – I don’t know the person name, but he – I can see he was trying to change his life Could see he was trying to change his life.”

Indigenous Leaders Say ‘We Want to Be Part of Conversations’

A network of Indigenous leaders from across the country recently convened for a dialogue to amplify their voices and address environmental issues in their indigenous spaces. Supported by the University of California, the event was held both online and in person at the Sir Colville N. Young Building in Belize City on Tuesday, featuring leaders from the Maya and Garifuna groups. The event highlighted the importance of including Indigenous voices in environmental policy discussions and urged policymakers to listen and involve them in decisions about their lands and resources. Here’s more from one of the leaders who attended. Garifuna Leader, Cynthia Ellis, told us more.

Cynthia Ellis, Garifuna Leader, Indigenous People’s Network

“This gathering is to presence the indigenous voices, the people whose voices that are often not heard, you know? The thing is that these people have for long been living in the on these lands and in these communities, and they have woken up sometimes and seen different projects and programs that are being developed in our space. And we have not been involved in the planning and implementation of these projects. So we are just presencing ourselves. Plan recommend themselves, and these plans say, Here I am to participate in my own development. We are having an indigenous peoples network, which includes Maya, Garifuna, Creole, and all these people who have an interest in upgrading and uplifting the spaces of our people. I’m talking the forest. I’m talking about Barranco, Hopkins, and Seine Bight; all these coastal communities where we have the situations of intense development, high-rise resorts, and all that kind of development, which often compromises the situation of our cultural way of life.”

A Deer Dance-Inspired Miss Universe National Costume

Culture and beauty come together in a stunning display of designer craftsmanship, as showcased in the Miss Universe Belize 2024 national costume, unveiled this morning. The costume draws inspiration from the traditional Mayan Deer Dance, which is still performed at special ceremonies today. More than just a performance of masked dancers moving to the marimba’s rhythm, the Deer Dance tells a deeper story—depicting the relationship between the Maya people and the land, as well as scenes from the era of the Spanish conquest. News Five’s Paul Lopez has more in tonight’s Kolcha Tuesday segment.

Paul Lopez, Reporting

A Mayan custom that tells the story of the relationship between the Maya people and the land will come alive on the 2024 Miss Universe stage in Mexico City. Miss Universe Belize, Halima Hoy, revealed her national costume this morning, and it has a striking resemblance to the deer dance attire.

Halima Hoy, Miss Universe Belize 2024

“The back story about it is that a deer farmer spoke to the mountains and the mountains told him to build a marimba. He played the Marimba and the deer came dancing and other animals as well. But behind that, it is the resilience of the Maya people during their colonization period and how they were able to keep their identities and stay true to themselves.”

The soundtrack to the deer dance is played on a three-person marimba. A portion of the dance portrays how this music called all the animals from the mountains and woods. As the story progresses, the Spaniards appear ready to take over the lands. The deer dance attire is typically adorned with an abundance of mirrors to reflect the resistance of the Maya people to the invading forces.

Halima Hoy

“Xwankil, the Maya deer dance is a very respected and part of the Mayan culture. We had the submissions from artist in Belize. We wanted it to be a Belizean custom. They submitted their designs and we got a lot of good ones but Xwankil caught the attention of the Belizean population and the organization. They got the most votes and we chose that one because it has such a deep meaning and it respects one of our ethnic groups here in Belize.”

Towards the end of the story, the dancers act out a scene in which the invaders produced a gun and shot a deer. One iteration is that this did not end well for them. Another iteration suggests that the shooter was a hunter and that he shot a rabid deer. According to that account, the animals banned together to escort the hunter out of the forest so that he does not continue to hunt while also celebrating a successful hunt. The costume was designed and created by Ronelli Requena, Emilio Perrera and Damian Moore.

Ronelli Requena, Founder, Zayvah Sarai

“We named the costume Xwankil. It is depicting the Maya deer dance which is very special and we wanted to integrate the real story of what it is the deer dance, the hunting scene, being out in the jungle. But there is a very deep meaning beyond just the hunting scene. It is more about the harmony which man and earth come together. It is basically saying like respect for mother nature and in today’s day and age everything falls into place perfect. In 2024 that has been one of the biggest topics, climate change and climate action.”

The traditional costume also features a headpiece with antlers made from branches or other natural materials. It is often decorated with feathers and beads. Deer skull headdresses and masks are also traditionally worn. The colours of the traditional costumes are very vibrant. Requena and the team of creators were sure to include every aspect of the traditional wear while making it functional for a beauty pageant.

Ronelli Requena

“We had the costume. We had one big thing that was left, what was the message we wanted to send. We wanted to come up with a tag line. When you see the costume, you could see the beauty of Belize but also what the costume is about. The fires that happened down south and it really touched me, so I thought it was only right to integrate it into the costume itself. And it was very important for me to stay true and very respectful for the culture and the deer dance but yet find ways on how we can make it more feminine, because it is a pageant.”

As Halima Hoy prepared to leave Belize and travel to Mexico today, she told us that the support for her journey and now the costume has been overwhelming.

Halima Hoy, Miss Universe Belize 2024

“I know there is a lot of hard work behind it, Damian, Ronelli and Emilio put their heart and souls into this costume. It was a group effort. We did a lot of fittings, adjustemetns, we were true to the costume. If you ever seen the deer dance in real life or on the videos. The costume is a replica of that. It is bold and brilliant, and I love it. I will say it is the best, because it is my costume.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.

Shyne Accuses The Alliance of Fraud and Deception

Moses “Shyne” Barrow says that he remains the leader of the United Democratic Party. This is after the Tracy Panton-led Alliance for Democracy held what it described as a ‘unity convention’ on Sunday during which U.D.P. delegates voted for Panton to be the U.D.P. leader. But as we have been reporting, Barrow is rejecting any and all results from the Alliance’s convention, saying that the event was not sanctioned by the leadership of the U.D.P. nor its executive and therefore was a waste of time and money. Barrow stopped by our studies today and accused The Alliance of fraud and deception. He said that none of the motioned passed is valid or legitimate.

Moses “Shyne Barrow, Leader, U.D.P.

“That is fraud and deception. That event on Sunday is an Alliance for Democracy party event. Anything else that they would want to claim is complete fraud and deception. That was not a UDP convention. Where in the UDP constitution does it allow activities, procedures to take place without the duly elected executive? You show me where in the UDP constitution it says that the delegates can appoint an interim, they appointed two interim party chairmans on Sunday. They started with Jacqueline Willoughby then they went again with Sheena Pitts. Show me where in the UDP constitution, the delegates can do that. In order for the convention to proceed, the party chairman has to call it to order. No. If Alberto August had broken ranks with us and showed up, you could make an argument even though we would argue, well, he’s going against what the National Party Council decided. So it is still not legit. That would be a more legitimate argument that at least the secretary general, the deputy party chairman, one of the people that has the authority to preside over the activity, to call it to order so that you can vote on anything. So nothing that they voted on is valid or legit. This was Maduro 2. 0. They had whatever they had with no challenges, no contests. And you have taken everything that they have said as fact. Who verified who was a delegate and who was not a delegate?”

Marion Ali

“How are delegates identified in the first place and the number of delegates?”

Moses “Shyne” Brrow

“By the Secretary General. The Secretary General. The secretariat gets the list from the standard bearers. When there is a convention, we go over that list.”

Barrow says AFD’s Convention is a “Farce”

According to Barrow, the party’s constitution does not allow the appointment of an interim chairman. He said that a party convention cannot proceed without a duly elected party chairman. Barrow says that the U.D.P. will not reduce itself to what he described as a “farce”.

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader, U.D.P.

“This idea that you have a one-fourth petition, but you don’t need the party chairman to call a meeting to order to preside over the event? You don’t need the secretariat for checks and balances, for scrutiny, for election integrity? It’s absolutely absurd, Marion. I don’t see how you guys get around that. If there was maybe one from the ranks then you could maybe understand, but it is not even the party leader that can conduct a national convention. It is the party chairman. In his absence, it would be the deputy chairman. In the deputy chairman’s absence, it would be the secretary general. You had none of that. So what you’re saying now is that because these people are aggrieved, because in their opinion, they are not happy that they can do away with everything. And that is why we said they formed their own party. There’s no way under the UDP constitution that that could survive. There is no provision by which to appoint an interim chair, then begin the proceedings. You need to begin the proceedings, then you, you do your voting. There is no, there is nothing, and I just, I understand the provision that you quoted, but show me where it says that a national convention can proceed with no party chairman, no secretariat. No deputy chairman. You can just proceed. Who calls it to order Marion?”

Marion Ali

“Let me pose this question to you, Mr. Barrow… but since the issue of the delegates and the validity of the list has come forth has the secretariat..

Moses “Shyne” Barrow

“That’s not a UDP. What you’re asking, what you’re asking the UDP to do is to reduce itself to this farce, to this circus. This is fraud and deception by people who have all been accused of corruption. So that’s another thing you need to look at. This is what the Americans were talking about when they spoke of significantly corrupt. Who is behind this? John Saldivar. Edmond Castro accused him of being corrupt. What you are asking the UDP to do is to even dignify this farce by saying, oh, so who are we going to ask to see the delegates list when, ma’am, the way a convention proceeds is that all of these things have to be done before the convention proceeds. You don’t do it after the fact. So, it’s a complete farce, complete fraud and deception and the onus is on them to go to a court of law and let the court say otherwise. Until then, you have a duly elected leadership executive where there was no controversy, there was no discrepancy. I got elected along with other leaders, fair, transparent, in free elections. What happened on Sunday, if you want to link that to UDP, was a farce. What we believe happened on Sunday was an Alliance for Democracy party convention.”

Will Shyne Kick Out Other UDP Standard Bearers?

And as we saw on Sunday, there were quite a few U.D.P. standard-bearers who are now supporting Tracy Panton and the Alliance for Democracy. The possibility of those individuals, including Queen Square Stand Bearer Godwin Haylock, being kicked out of the party is quite real. So that’s what we asked Barrow today.

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader, U.D.P.

“One thing I will give them is they are few, but they are loud. But being boisterous doesn’t make you right. So, again, if Mr. Haylock was a member of the UDP, then he would be bounded by the UDP constitution to not criticize the party or the party leader.”

Marion Ali

“Would you say that he has also, quote unquote, constructively resigned?

Moses “Shyne” Barrow

“No. He is, he’s a member of the…everyone that went to the Alliance Event have become members of the Alliance.

Marion Ali

“So you’ll be looking for new standard bearers?

Moses “Shyne” Barrow

“We don’t know who the delegates are because, you know, we could we could not ascertain that but we have seen the standard bearers Edmond Castro all of them Boots Martinez.

Marion Ali

“Will you be looking to replace all of them with new UDP standard bearers?

Moses “Shyne” Barrow

“Yes, in due course, we will address that.

Marion Ali

“So, Godwin is gone.

Moses “Shyne” Barrow

“In due course, we will address that. We will address that as a party. We will address that the NPC will meet. I will wait for the chairman to convene a central executive, an NPC meeting, and we will discuss the way forward as far as what we will do in those instances. I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I want to follow the procedure and let the party chairman. The party chairman will be available next week. But it is, it is my opinion, right? I don’t want to get ahead of the party but it is clear, and that has been the discussion before this happened that those that want to go and be a part of the Alliance for Democracy Party event, it’s just as if you went to a PUP event, then you become a member of the PUP. it is not as if they went there and they said nothing, they went there and they proclaimed their support for their leader of the Alliance for Democracy Party. So I don’t see how we can proceed with them as UDP standard bearers.”

Marion Ali

“That would be quite a number of people the UDP would have replaced.”

Moses “Shyne” Barrow

“Only seven because remember, the four were already expelled. So there is only seven and, and of the seven… but I don’t want to get into who could win or who can’t win, but I mean, Haylock is the only seat that is a sure seat, but it is not a decision for me to make. And so I want this to be clear to say that is a decision for the party to make formally, but it occurs to me that anyone that went to a convention for another party and voted in that convention would with immediate effect relinquish their position in the UDP. It occurs to me.”

Taegar-Panton Says Rift Might End Up in Court

We asked Taegar-Panton how the ongoing rift between the two factions would be addressed, especially with conflicting press releases from both sides using the same letterhead but sharing opposing information. While she assured that the issue would be resolved, she didn’t provide specific details on how it would be handled. However, she hinted at the possibility of the matter being taken to court.

Tracy Taegar-Panton, Area Representative, Albert

“The former party leader has now been recalled. He has no jurisdiction to speak on behalf of the United Democratic Party. You see, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t have it both ways. And the situation will be remedied. It has to be remedied. And I won’t get into all those details. Our commitment is we will leave no stone unturned. And that is our commitment to the delegates. And that is our commitment to thousands of UDP supporters who showed up on Sunday.”

Marion Ali

“You can answer or you may not. Will it be a legal matter?”

Tracy Taegar-Panton

“It may. It may be a legal matter.”